LOUISVILLE, Ky. (9/30/17) –Anaelle Charles placed in the top five to lead the Arkansas State women’s cross country team to a second place finish at the Greater Louisville Classic contested at E.P. Tom Sawyer Park Saturday.

Charles posted her third top-five finish in as many outings, placing fifth in the individual standings with a time of 18:17.08. Elizabeth Gillette finished 11th on the 5k course with a time of 18:46.37. Pauline Meyer (17th – 19:05.53), Rebecca Eldien (20th – 19:08.05) and Sammy Brainard (22nd – 19:09.63) rounded out the top five finishers for the Red Wolves in the ‘Blue Division’ of the event.

"A strong positive from today's race was that the women did a nice job running as a team pack," said A-State cross country coach Kyle Chandler. "Today was better that a couple weeks ago when the ladies won the meet in regards to the cohesiveness. So, even though they missed the team title by a very small margin today, it is always nice to see progress."

The A-State men’s team was led by Seth Waters who clocked a time of 25:58.53 on the 8k course to rank 14th in the individual standings. Bennett Pascoe (26th – 26:25.69) and Jacob Oury (28th – 26:34.66) were neck-and-neck while John Carder finished in 42nd with a time of 27:02.81. Sean Adams rounded out the top five for A-State with a 51st place time of 27:29.81 as the Red Wolves finished seventh in the team standings.

"If there was an award for best freshman team, I think our group would be in strong contention," said Chandler. "At the end of the race, however, what counts is who finishes before another. That said, our men's team ran well and their team time is on par with more seasoned teams we've had in the past. We have some work to do to get better, and with that work our future looks bright."

The A-State cross country teams return to action on Oct. 14 with split squad contests. Some runners will return to Louisville for the Pre-Nationals Invite while others will race in Little Rock at the Little Rock Invitational. The Sun Belt Conference Championships follow two weeks later on Oct. 28.